If this post were to have a soundtrack, it would be Ukulele Anthem by Amanda Palmer. If you want to put that on now, I’ll wait a few minutes to start.

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In our little corner of the world (By which, I mean the UK) things have taken a turn for the mean. This has not been sudden but the turn was unexpectedly sharp. Nimue and I , and many of our friends have been *deeply* troubled by the prospect of what will be coming for the next five years . I know we are not alone over here. There is plenty of mean elsewhere. (sadly) What to do then, when we know that many people who are already struggling are going to have it worse in the coming years, and our environment will not be protected from short term greed? My skills (such as they are) are mostly directly related to the getting dirty of paper. Over the last decade I have been pretty career obsessed and extremely strive-y. I then realised I was never going to be successful enough. No matter what I managed to achieve, I was only aware of what else I should accomplish. In this way I would always be busy, but never satisfied. Recently we have espoused the doctrine of “enough”. We have achieved it now, and we know what it looks like, for us. We have a secure home sufficient funds for food and clothing etc. We very intentionally do not own a car or television (or indeed, a refrigerator. You’d be surprised how easy it is to get by with a cool box especially if you are a vegetarian) We also have occasional abundance. (by which, I mean that we go out for chips, buy books our friends have brought into the world, or catch a local music event) We know a lot of people (and the numbers are growing, and will grow further) who have nothing like our version of “enough” never mind the occasional abundance. So, my response (which took me by surprise) has been to say that enough for us just is not going to be enough. I’m going to have to be a bit more strive-y in order to be able to help when and where I can. (but with a different motive) We do give some of our work away already. (Hopeless, Maine and Fast Food at the Centre of the World) We are watching for people who are starting to fall through the cracks and offering help. We are moral support (Nimue is especially good at this one) for some people who are on the front lines. Locally, although we are pagan, we recognise that some of the churches have an established network to recognise and help people who are in trouble, so we’ll work with them. (By the time people get to a food bank, they may have already been hungry for some time. we’d like to find a way to get there faster) Also- local initiatives community building and art. (Because if it all comes down to survival, things become very grim indeed)

Nimue has written a brilliant post about some of the ways we have got here. You can read that here.

So, if you are one of the many who are helping, supporting others, reminding people that there is just the one inhabitable world. my profound thanks. Let us stick together, and show them that our way of being in the world is much less fearful, more creative and generally more fun. (though sometimes heartbreaking)

I was hoping I would get to this part and have figured out a fantastic segue to bring us to the Goblin. (other than, “Look! A Goblin!”) but i’m afraid inspiration has not struck.